You are here

Dimensions Academy

Dimensions Academy is a self-contained classroom-based program designed to meet the unique educational and social/emotional needs of gifted children in grades 4-8 who have exceptional academic skills. Open enrollment is available to students who do not live in Bloomington.

Dimensions Academy provides highly rigorous content at an accelerated pace. Therefore, this program is not for all students. Student selection is based on the Bloomington Public Schools' assessment measures or other professional assessments that deem this program to be educationally beneficial for highly/profoundly gifted children.

Middle School (grades 6-8)

Which school will my child attend?

Students are placed in an elementary or middle school based on their home address attendance area. Use our school locator if you are uncertain.

Elementary students who live in the Jefferson High School area will attend Ridgeview Elementary and those living in the Kennedy High School attendance area will attend Oak Grove Elementary.

Middle school students will attend the middle school designated by their attendance area. Valley View Middle School students are transported free of charge to the DA program at Oak Grove Middle School.

Key Program Elements

Dimensions Academy is framed in an intense curriculum designed to respond to the needs of gifted learners. Key elements of the program are:

Advanced content-based curriculum

Advanced content focuses students on developing new learning and knowledge, as opposed to factual regeneration;

Concept learning develops student understanding of any discipline and the relationship among disciplines; and

Differentiated instruction to meet the sophisticated learning needs of gifted children

Acceleration of basic content experiences;

Construction of meaning as the central goal;

Use of higher order process models;

Exploration of substantive content at a conceptual and abstract level;

Inquiry as a fundamental tool for encouraging learning;

Open-ended activities and questioning that encourages further exploration or social action;

Development of creative products to stimulate the use of higher-level thinking and problem-solving processes; and

Extensions to pique interest in substantive content.

Social and emotional development and guidance

Development of a healthy sense of self through self-knowledge and self-acceptance;

Development of healthy relationships through an understanding of self and others;

Development of appropriate expectations of self and others; and

Development of risk-taking behaviors in intellectual contexts.

Academic & Behavior Guidelines

DA was developed to challenge and nurture highly able students. In order to maintain a high level of academic rigor and a productive learning environment, participation in DA requires a high level of academic and behavioral standards.

All DA students must maintain an academic Grade Point Average (GPA) of B- (2.667) or above in Dimensions Academy subjects and math to remain in the program. DA students' academic performance will be monitored throughout the course of the year in order to intervene when necessary if students are not achieving GPA of B- or above.

Students in DA must also maintain behaviors that contribute to a positive learning environment. Students who choose to participate in behaviors that negatively impact the learning environment may be asked to leave the program and enroll in the regular/Honors academic program offered at their existing site. Decisions to reschedule students out of the DA program are left to the building administrator, working in collaboration with the Office of Gifted and Talented.